Various types of vehicle opening and closing member control apparatuses are proposed. For example, according to an opening and closing member control apparatus for a vehicle disclosed in JP9125820 (hereinafter referred to as “Reference 1”), in the cases where the opening and closing member such as a sliding door that can be automatically opened or closed is operated by a user, and the like, an operation of the door is detected, i.e., an opening or closing speed of the door is detected, by a speed sensor. Then, an electromagnetic clutch and a drive motor are powered on the basis of the detection results to thereby electrically assist the opening or closing operation of the door.
In addition, for example, an opening and closing member control apparatus for a vehicle disclosed in JP2001246936A (hereinafter referred to as “Reference 2”) detects an operating force required for opening or closing the opening and closing member such as a door by means of an operating force sensor provided at a door handle. The door opening or closing operation is then assisted in response to the detected operating force.
According to the opening and closing member control apparatus disclosed in Reference 1, the door operation is detected by means of the speed sensor that detects the opening or closing speed of the door so as to supply power to the electromagnetic clutch and the drive motor. Thus, in the cases where the door is stopped between a fully closed position and a fully open position by means of the clutch in the connected state so as to prevent the door from moving by its own weight on a slope, and the like, the door cannot be operated by the user. As a result, the opening or closing speed of the door cannot be detected by the speed sensor. It may be difficult for the door to be electrically opened or closed from such stopped state.
According to the opening and closing member control apparatus disclosed in Reference 2, the operating force of the door handle is detected for assisting the door opening or closing operation in response to the detected operating force. At the time the door is operated via a portion other than the door handle, such operating force is not detectable. Thus, in the cases where the door handle is out of reach when the door is opened, such as a case of a rear hatch, the door handle cannot be operated when the door is stopped in the middle, i.e., stopped between the fully closed state and the fully open state. The opening or closing operation of the door cannot be assisted accordingly.
A need thus exists for an opening and closing member control apparatus for a vehicle which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.